If there were an ethical bone in Gov. Christine Gregoire’s body, I’d certainly be shocked. As is the case with most Democrats, she has the labor unions in her back pocket. However, her involvement with the Service Employees International Union has led to a conflict of interest that she has chosen to ignore. Luckily, Dino Rossi was ready to call her out:

Gregoire is getting a big boost in her campaign from the SEIU, which includes more than 30,000 state workers and is funding ads attacking Rossi. At the same time, Gregoire is involved with contract negotiations to decide the union members’ pay and benefits.

“When you have one party, whether it’s Republican or Democrat, that’s in power for so long, you end up with the appearance of institutional corruption, and that’s what this looks like,” Rossi said.

The complaints don’t stop there. State Republicans suggest there is a pattern that started with a deal Gregoire made with Indian gaming tribes, which helped bankroll the second recount that put Gregoire into office.

Washington is quickly taking Louisiana’s spot as the epicenter of statewide Democratic political corruption. Hopefully Dino Rossi can play Bobby Jindal to Gregoire’s Kathleen Blanco.